Monday, November 28, 2011
Late season bream
The days following Thanksgiving have been mild, so I thought I'd walk over to the pond to see what I could catch. Got about a half dozen bream on both wets and drys.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Most of the leaves have fallen...
But I'm a sucker for autumn foliage, and the path down to Paint Branch Creek still has some maples showing their stuff.
Odd patriotic display well off the beaten path in the woods.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Blue Heron visits the pond
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Visit from Margo and other pictures
Yesterday Pam and I met old friend Margo who came in to DC with her boyfriend, Carroll who had work related meetings. While we waited for him, I took this picture of Pam and Margo in front of the Capitol. The four of us then had a nice dinner in DC's Chinatown.
Today, I took a few shots just outside the backdoor. (doo doo doo, looking out my backdoor, as John Fogerty sang)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
The Moo Cup
L to R: Me, Lou, Pat, Capt. Mike, Ski, Tom, Tip. Thanks to Tip and his self-timer.
Our annual Potomac fishing tournament. Acclaimed winner was Tom.
I shared Pat's boat.
We got some good ones too.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Connie Chung hugged me tonight
...at the Symposium on Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland.
I've attended these before but this was the best. Connie was there because husband Maury Povich was the panel moderator, and the annual event is named for his father who was a sports writer for The Washington Post for many years. Tonight's topic was race and sports, and the panel featured Michael Wilbon, Bobby Mitchell, Darryl Hill (first Maryland African American football player), Scott Van Pelt of ESPN, and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Afterward, I walked over to Connie and told her she could still be our Homecoming Queen. She looked at me and asked if I was there then (1969 she was the Homecoming Queen at Maryland). I said yes and she gave me the big hug. Maury came over and I told him I was flirting with his wife. He answered "Of course" which was a pretty good response I thought.
Oh, yeah. She also said that if she didn't color her hair it would look about like mine. I told her she would still be lovely.
I've attended these before but this was the best. Connie was there because husband Maury Povich was the panel moderator, and the annual event is named for his father who was a sports writer for The Washington Post for many years. Tonight's topic was race and sports, and the panel featured Michael Wilbon, Bobby Mitchell, Darryl Hill (first Maryland African American football player), Scott Van Pelt of ESPN, and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Afterward, I walked over to Connie and told her she could still be our Homecoming Queen. She looked at me and asked if I was there then (1969 she was the Homecoming Queen at Maryland). I said yes and she gave me the big hug. Maury came over and I told him I was flirting with his wife. He answered "Of course" which was a pretty good response I thought.
Oh, yeah. She also said that if she didn't color her hair it would look about like mine. I told her she would still be lovely.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Every day you're alive is a good day...
I try to keep that in mind and especially right now after attending my cousin's memorial service Saturday in New York City. Like his father, who was my favorite uncle, cousin Stuart died at 58.
I always knew Stuart was very smart and a very nice guy, but even knowing that it really impressed me hearing the steady stream of New York City attorneys who spoke not just of his brilliance as a lawyer but how he was admired for his kindness, warmth, and honesty.
The crowd was huge and the service long although quite moving, and afterward there was a gathering at the Park Avenue apartment of one of Stuart's brothers in law. That apartment (for sale at 16 million) was a peek into the world of the 1% we've been hearing so much about lately. In the dining room, the owner showed me where my cousin would place the pies he baked for Thanksgiving Dinner every year. Stuart excelled at everything that grabbed his interest: as a musician, historian, gardener, and a baker and probably other things as well.
Later my daughter Becca led my wife and I through the wind, the cold, and the snow to her Brooklyn apartment to spend the night. With many of the subway trains not running because of power failures, the trip was complicated and difficult after a long day. At the apartment she and her fiancee, Sean, had Indian food for us, and it was a huge relief to be warm and dry. The next morning the sky was blue and sunny when my daughter showed us her neighborhood as we went out for bagels.
After leaving my daughter, my wife Pam and I traveled back to Maryland under the sunny October sky, and I thought of cousin Stuart's widow and two children and of how lucky I was.
I always knew Stuart was very smart and a very nice guy, but even knowing that it really impressed me hearing the steady stream of New York City attorneys who spoke not just of his brilliance as a lawyer but how he was admired for his kindness, warmth, and honesty.
The crowd was huge and the service long although quite moving, and afterward there was a gathering at the Park Avenue apartment of one of Stuart's brothers in law. That apartment (for sale at 16 million) was a peek into the world of the 1% we've been hearing so much about lately. In the dining room, the owner showed me where my cousin would place the pies he baked for Thanksgiving Dinner every year. Stuart excelled at everything that grabbed his interest: as a musician, historian, gardener, and a baker and probably other things as well.
Later my daughter Becca led my wife and I through the wind, the cold, and the snow to her Brooklyn apartment to spend the night. With many of the subway trains not running because of power failures, the trip was complicated and difficult after a long day. At the apartment she and her fiancee, Sean, had Indian food for us, and it was a huge relief to be warm and dry. The next morning the sky was blue and sunny when my daughter showed us her neighborhood as we went out for bagels.
After leaving my daughter, my wife Pam and I traveled back to Maryland under the sunny October sky, and I thought of cousin Stuart's widow and two children and of how lucky I was.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Patapsco below the bridge
Trout fishing continues to be good, and weather is excellent. On a short trip today went downstream and caught another lively rainbow trout and two bream, all on a black marabou bead head streamer. Water lever 1.9 at Hollofield.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Rainy week fishing and a walk
October is a good month for fishing and appreciating the changes that autumn brings.
In between rains, I made two trips to the Patapsco this week and totaled three nice rainbow trout, two smallmouth bass, and a couple of dozen bream. Water levels were 1.74 Monday at Hollofield and 2.24 today which I thought was a little high to go out, so I stayed near home and
walked in the park.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Short, fat, bald politicians
Not many of them are there? At least, at the national level.
I've been thinking about this because there's been a lot of discussion about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's weight and whether America would elect a fat guy as president. We generally don't, but we also don't elect bald guys and short guys either.
During my lifetime, only Bill Clinton leaned towards being hefty among presidents, but I don't think many considered him fat. Eisenhower was the only elected bald president, and he twice defeated another bald guy, Adlai Stevenson. Yeah, Jerry Ford was bald, but was never elected to the office. Short guys don't get much of a chance either as the shortest one in my memory was Jimmy Carter who actually was about the US average in height. He looked short and slight next to Reagan, however.
None of these characteristics have anything to do with intelligence and judgment, and I'm sure there are short, fat, bald men (and short, fat women) who would make fine presidents, but they may never get a chance to prove it.
I've been thinking about this because there's been a lot of discussion about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's weight and whether America would elect a fat guy as president. We generally don't, but we also don't elect bald guys and short guys either.
During my lifetime, only Bill Clinton leaned towards being hefty among presidents, but I don't think many considered him fat. Eisenhower was the only elected bald president, and he twice defeated another bald guy, Adlai Stevenson. Yeah, Jerry Ford was bald, but was never elected to the office. Short guys don't get much of a chance either as the shortest one in my memory was Jimmy Carter who actually was about the US average in height. He looked short and slight next to Reagan, however.
None of these characteristics have anything to do with intelligence and judgment, and I'm sure there are short, fat, bald men (and short, fat women) who would make fine presidents, but they may never get a chance to prove it.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
September colors are underrated
Yes, as fall progresses and the leaves change, the colors are flashier. But I've come to appreciate the early autumn with the wildflowers still in bloom.
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard seem to enjoy the season too.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Late summer days at Bethany Beach
While Pam read, I just laid down and looked up at the sky.
And took pictures of gulls who would stop and pose.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Carl Oglesby
There was an excellent obituary in The Washington Post of Oglesby who died Tuesday at 76.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/carl-oglesby-antiwar-group-leader-and-outspoken-critic-of-vietnam-dies-at-76/2011/09/14/gIQAwDbvSK_story.html
In the 1960's there were two political activists who I admired most and, co-incidentally, they shared the same first name: Carl Oglesby and Karl Hess. I was fortunate to have heard both speak at separate occasions 1969 or 1970.
When Oglesby became leader of Students for a Democratic Society in the early 60's, the group's focus was on civil rights, the elimination of poverty, and a re-direction of American foreign policy. My first reading of Oglesby was a rousing speech he gave to a Vietnam War demonstration in 1965. Although I lived only a few miles from the demonstration in Washington, DC, I was only vaguely aware of it and would have had no interest in attending. It would have probably have been about three years later when I would I read that speech in a collection The New Left Reader. I later bought his book on foreign policy, Containment and Change.
The picture is still clear in my memory of Oglesby making a speech at the University of Maryland to a crowd of students in front of the Student Union Building. He wore glasses and was tall and lanky, and as he spoke he would sweep back his longish hair as it fell over his forehead. His voice was crisp and his tone passionate as he urged the crowd to activism against the Vietnam War. It was not just rhetoric, however, and whether speaking or writing he would build his arguments systematically with facts that invariably later proved accurate when I checked them.
When the violent Weatherman faction of the SDS took over the organization, they ousted Oglesby and dismissed him as "a hopelessly bourgeois liberal." To radical leftists the word "liberal" was just as much of in insult as it was to later become to TV and radio conservative commentators. Oglesby responded that the Weathermen's politics were all "road rage and comic book Marxism."
Unlike the most of the student radicals, Oglesby came not from wealth and privilege but from a working class background in Akron, Ohio, from southern parents who migrated north to work in factories. I was unaware of his background until the obituary, but it made me wonder if his background made it easier for me to relate to as opposed to other radical leaders of the time who came from a different world than I did.
Karl Hess died in the 1990's. He was a speech writer for conservative Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and wrote the infamous words "Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice...", words that helped opponents label Goldwater as too much a radical conservative to be president. I saw nothing wrong with those words then and still don't. A few years later Hess gravitated to the New Left and shared their opposition to the Vietnam War. He maintained that his political principles never changed as he moved from what was conventionally perceived as the political right to the left. Those principles helped form the basis of the Libertarian Party who look to Hess as an early inspiration. I saw him speak also at the University, at the mall in front of McKeldin Library. I remember his speaking manner as subdued, but he made his points firmly and eloquently.
After the 60's Hess moved from DC to West Virginia and made a living as a welder, bartering his services rather than being paid in cash because he refused to pay taxes that would primarily go to defense spending. Stories sometimes appeared about him in newspapers and magazines, so I was able to keep track of him generally until his death. Oglesby, by contrast, dropped from my sight but apparently earned a living from writing, teaching, and music.
These two men contributed to our world which is lessened by their absences. Their deaths make me feel closer to my own death.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/carl-oglesby-antiwar-group-leader-and-outspoken-critic-of-vietnam-dies-at-76/2011/09/14/gIQAwDbvSK_story.html
In the 1960's there were two political activists who I admired most and, co-incidentally, they shared the same first name: Carl Oglesby and Karl Hess. I was fortunate to have heard both speak at separate occasions 1969 or 1970.
When Oglesby became leader of Students for a Democratic Society in the early 60's, the group's focus was on civil rights, the elimination of poverty, and a re-direction of American foreign policy. My first reading of Oglesby was a rousing speech he gave to a Vietnam War demonstration in 1965. Although I lived only a few miles from the demonstration in Washington, DC, I was only vaguely aware of it and would have had no interest in attending. It would have probably have been about three years later when I would I read that speech in a collection The New Left Reader. I later bought his book on foreign policy, Containment and Change.
The picture is still clear in my memory of Oglesby making a speech at the University of Maryland to a crowd of students in front of the Student Union Building. He wore glasses and was tall and lanky, and as he spoke he would sweep back his longish hair as it fell over his forehead. His voice was crisp and his tone passionate as he urged the crowd to activism against the Vietnam War. It was not just rhetoric, however, and whether speaking or writing he would build his arguments systematically with facts that invariably later proved accurate when I checked them.
When the violent Weatherman faction of the SDS took over the organization, they ousted Oglesby and dismissed him as "a hopelessly bourgeois liberal." To radical leftists the word "liberal" was just as much of in insult as it was to later become to TV and radio conservative commentators. Oglesby responded that the Weathermen's politics were all "road rage and comic book Marxism."
Unlike the most of the student radicals, Oglesby came not from wealth and privilege but from a working class background in Akron, Ohio, from southern parents who migrated north to work in factories. I was unaware of his background until the obituary, but it made me wonder if his background made it easier for me to relate to as opposed to other radical leaders of the time who came from a different world than I did.
Karl Hess died in the 1990's. He was a speech writer for conservative Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and wrote the infamous words "Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice...", words that helped opponents label Goldwater as too much a radical conservative to be president. I saw nothing wrong with those words then and still don't. A few years later Hess gravitated to the New Left and shared their opposition to the Vietnam War. He maintained that his political principles never changed as he moved from what was conventionally perceived as the political right to the left. Those principles helped form the basis of the Libertarian Party who look to Hess as an early inspiration. I saw him speak also at the University, at the mall in front of McKeldin Library. I remember his speaking manner as subdued, but he made his points firmly and eloquently.
After the 60's Hess moved from DC to West Virginia and made a living as a welder, bartering his services rather than being paid in cash because he refused to pay taxes that would primarily go to defense spending. Stories sometimes appeared about him in newspapers and magazines, so I was able to keep track of him generally until his death. Oglesby, by contrast, dropped from my sight but apparently earned a living from writing, teaching, and music.
These two men contributed to our world which is lessened by their absences. Their deaths make me feel closer to my own death.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Activities fair on campus
On the mall today at the University of Maryland where I'm back for another semester.
The theme is "First Look" because the purpose is to introducenew students to the variety of campus organizations.
Catoctin mountain stream
Big Hunting Creek is such beautiful waters I was sorry I forgot my camera yesterday. I'm out of practice on trout fishing on moving waters and didn't do well. Also, I should start setting aside more time for these trips because I was just starting to get good drifts with my dry flies when it was time to start heading home.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Pond and reservoir notes
Made good use of nice late summer day. Fished the pond this morning and picked up a couple of bream quickly on our side. Walked over to the other and caught probably the biggest largemouth I've taken from the pond this year, 14 to 15 inches. He took the balsa wood surface slider deep, so it took a while to unhook him to put him back.
In the afternoon, Pam and I paddled around the reservoir. Seeing some rising fish, I rigged up the fly rod and cast a few times but no strikes. Saturday when I drove up the check on the canoe after the storms, I watched many rises in Scott's Cove. I think there's some hatch going on but don't know what. Both pictures taken at the reservoir.
In the afternoon, Pam and I paddled around the reservoir. Seeing some rising fish, I rigged up the fly rod and cast a few times but no strikes. Saturday when I drove up the check on the canoe after the storms, I watched many rises in Scott's Cove. I think there's some hatch going on but don't know what. Both pictures taken at the reservoir.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
At least the rain makes the garden look good
It's been a few days of almost constant rain which interferes with fishing and other outdoor activity. The weather is blamed is being blamed on the remnants of Hurricane Lee which hit the Gulf states and continued north inland. Hurricane Irene caused us to lose power for about 24 hours, but we were lucky in comparison with many. Although Katia appears to be heading too far east to be a problem, we're keeping an eye on tropical 
storm Maria.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Mountain streams, a reservoir, and a pond
Last week I fished Owens Creek in the Catoctins and not very succesfully. In April my friend Andy introduced me to an "unknown" stream in those mountains, but we didn't do well there either probably because it wasn't completely unknown, and another fisherman was there ahead of us. For a tiny brook trout stream that's too much pressure.
Also one day last week I drifted around in the canoe in Rocky Gorge trolling a fly on a sinking line and caught one perch.
This week have twice been to the pond in the park and each day caught small bass and bluegills on dry flies.
Had a 5.8 earthquake three days ago. This one was about twice as powerful as the quake a year ago. Two earthquakes in my 64 years, and they came a year apart. A hurricane is moving up the coast and will hit us this weekend.
Also one day last week I drifted around in the canoe in Rocky Gorge trolling a fly on a sinking line and caught one perch.
This week have twice been to the pond in the park and each day caught small bass and bluegills on dry flies.
Had a 5.8 earthquake three days ago. This one was about twice as powerful as the quake a year ago. Two earthquakes in my 64 years, and they came a year apart. A hurricane is moving up the coast and will hit us this weekend.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The County Fair was nice...
At least I'm assuming it was. I don't know for certain because when we set out to attend it this afternoon we neglected to verify that the Fair was still going on. It wasn't. We learned later that it closed two days ago. Oh, well, we had a nice time listening to music during our drive up to the fairgrounds
So we had a laugh at our own expense, took a few pictures of the abandoned fairgrounds and drove home.
Monday, August 15, 2011
The fish aren't where they usually are
At Nolands Ferry on the Potomac. The locations which are generally reliable for me this time of the year aren't producing. Saturday I tried everything at the near-side of the island, and nothing worked. Finally caught a few bream when I moved into slow water on the Maryland side. Hooked one bass but he jumped and threw the hook. The only effective fly was a damsel nymph. Water level .99 at Point of Rocks. No grasses at all.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Note to self: Next year more Vinca...
They seem to do well in our yard, and I prefer them over Impatiens for color.
Also, get the purple flowers again, whatever they are.
Michele Bachmann performs a solo Full Ginsburg
Rarer than a no-hitter in baseball, the Full Ginsburg was named for Monica Lewinsky's attorney who appeared on all the major Sunday political shows in one day back in 1998. Since then, the feat has been equaled by only six other people.
Yes, I know there are some out there whose statistics credit 14 Full Ginsburgs, but some of these were part of a group consisting of two or more other people. To me, as a Full Ginsburg purist, this is like giving credit for a no-hitter when relief pitchers were involved. No, the only authentic Full Ginsburg is the solo performance.
Although it is a political act, no American president has achieved a solo Full Ginsburg, but former VP Dick Cheney did. People speak in hush tones when they cite the only double winner of the solo Full Ginsburg, Hillary Clinton, a record that some feel will stand forever. Among political media hounds, Clinton certainly stands out, but Bachmann is relatively young in her career and I feel is up to equaling or surpassing Clinton's mark, as impressive as it is.
Yes, I know there are some out there whose statistics credit 14 Full Ginsburgs, but some of these were part of a group consisting of two or more other people. To me, as a Full Ginsburg purist, this is like giving credit for a no-hitter when relief pitchers were involved. No, the only authentic Full Ginsburg is the solo performance.
Although it is a political act, no American president has achieved a solo Full Ginsburg, but former VP Dick Cheney did. People speak in hush tones when they cite the only double winner of the solo Full Ginsburg, Hillary Clinton, a record that some feel will stand forever. Among political media hounds, Clinton certainly stands out, but Bachmann is relatively young in her career and I feel is up to equaling or surpassing Clinton's mark, as impressive as it is.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Patapsco Graffiti
Too many of my pictures taken when fishing look the same; upstream or downstream a Maryland river. After a few hours fishing on the far upper Patapsco, I decided to look for something different to photograph while scouting out new locations.
Bridge underpasses are common places for teenagers to hang out and do the things they want to do away from adult eyes. Some talented music lovers among them must have been responsible for the artwork.
The fishing got better the further away from the road crossing I traveled. The catching was bream (I'm not sure whether they were bluegills or red breasted sun fish, so I going to used the general southern term) and a couple of small bass. As usual on that river, the most effective fly was a beaded marabou streamer; this time olive. Some of the bream were pretty hefty.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Reviewing Outdoor Basics: Wildlife Identification and First Aid
Two fishing trips this week indicated reviewing these subjects might be in order. After fishing a small tributary of the Potomac in midweek. I realized many of the fish I've been carelessly identifying as bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) are actually red breasted sunfish (Lepomis auritus). I caught at least a dozen on the brief outing but no bass. The stream is pictured below.
Friday I fished the Patuxent above Rocky Gorge and was surprised but not shocked to catch a couple of yellow perch on a crystal bugger. I was not shocked because I've caught them in the two reservoirs and in the river where it empties into them, but it was unexpected where I was fishing yesterday. I also caught a fallfish which are common in the trout section of the river that I was just below.
Just before leaving I cut my leg while wading near the bridge crossing where I was parked. The cut was not deep, but I was anxious to treat it to ward off possible infections, and since I was only 20 minutes away I decided to wait until I got home. Although the incident was minor, it did make me consider how it would have gone if it had happened in one of my remote fishing spots. Later I examined my first aid kit for the first time in years and decided that, while I give myself credit for always having it in the car on my fishing trips, I have to improve on checking everything regularly because many items in the kit should be replaced.
Friday I fished the Patuxent above Rocky Gorge and was surprised but not shocked to catch a couple of yellow perch on a crystal bugger. I was not shocked because I've caught them in the two reservoirs and in the river where it empties into them, but it was unexpected where I was fishing yesterday. I also caught a fallfish which are common in the trout section of the river that I was just below.
Just before leaving I cut my leg while wading near the bridge crossing where I was parked. The cut was not deep, but I was anxious to treat it to ward off possible infections, and since I was only 20 minutes away I decided to wait until I got home. Although the incident was minor, it did make me consider how it would have gone if it had happened in one of my remote fishing spots. Later I examined my first aid kit for the first time in years and decided that, while I give myself credit for always having it in the car on my fishing trips, I have to improve on checking everything regularly because many items in the kit should be replaced.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Stringer
It must have been about 25 years ago that I took the teenage boy fishing. David was the second son of a couple that I have known since junior high school. The couple had married and had children young, but even in the late 60's and 70's when my life was very different from theirs we remained friends. Having gotten into the baby business much later than they, my own children were too small to fish at the time the mother suggested a fishing trip with their son.
We went to nearby Rocky Gorge Reservoir, the same lake where I now keep my canoe. At that time I was car-topping that canoe whenever I used it, so I guess David and I loaded it on whatever car I was driving 25 years ago. We had a good day fishing and kept the bass, catfish, and crappie on David's metal stringer. When I drove him home, neither he or his mother wanted to keep and clean the fish, so it was agreed I would take them. David insisted I keep the stringer as well as the fish. I did and my young family ate fresh fish that evening.
David and I never fished again. He grew into a man, and his family moved from Maryland to the mid-west. I stayed in loose touch with his parents and saw them periodically over the years, the last time at a high school reunion just over a year ago. Although most of my fishing since that trip with David has been catch and release, when I keep fish to eat I use that same stringer that he gave me years before. At those times I sometimes remember how I got it and the fishing that day. Since I last used it a few months ago, the metal stringer has been lying on the downstairs floor where I often sort my fishing tackle while watching TV.
Last night I received an e-mail from the couple informing me that their son David just died. The funeral will be back here in Maryland very near the lake we fished that day. I've thought about taking the fish stringer in the pocket of my suit when I attend the services. It might seem a strange thing to do, but somehow I think it's appropriate.
We went to nearby Rocky Gorge Reservoir, the same lake where I now keep my canoe. At that time I was car-topping that canoe whenever I used it, so I guess David and I loaded it on whatever car I was driving 25 years ago. We had a good day fishing and kept the bass, catfish, and crappie on David's metal stringer. When I drove him home, neither he or his mother wanted to keep and clean the fish, so it was agreed I would take them. David insisted I keep the stringer as well as the fish. I did and my young family ate fresh fish that evening.
David and I never fished again. He grew into a man, and his family moved from Maryland to the mid-west. I stayed in loose touch with his parents and saw them periodically over the years, the last time at a high school reunion just over a year ago. Although most of my fishing since that trip with David has been catch and release, when I keep fish to eat I use that same stringer that he gave me years before. At those times I sometimes remember how I got it and the fishing that day. Since I last used it a few months ago, the metal stringer has been lying on the downstairs floor where I often sort my fishing tackle while watching TV.
Last night I received an e-mail from the couple informing me that their son David just died. The funeral will be back here in Maryland very near the lake we fished that day. I've thought about taking the fish stringer in the pocket of my suit when I attend the services. It might seem a strange thing to do, but somehow I think it's appropriate.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Potomac, the Monocacy, and Thomas Wolfe
I read Look Homeward Angel and the other novels of Thomas Wolfe about half a century ago. An English professor in college said to read Wolfe while you're young because otherwise you won't, and I think that's true. It was in Of Time and the River, I believe, that Wolfe wrote a lyrical passage about how pleasant the native names of American rivers sound when spoken. I thought about that passage today when I fished these two rivers.
Fishing results were mixed because although I only caught two, one of them was the best bass I've caught this year, a fat 16 inch smallmouth. The fly was a B Damsel created by Joe Bruce of Baltimore. No sign of grasses. Water levels were 1. 09 at Point of Rocks, 2.77 at Little Falls, and 2.21 at Bridgeport on the Monocacy.
The Monocacy, looking downstream near the confluence with the Potomac.
Fishing results were mixed because although I only caught two, one of them was the best bass I've caught this year, a fat 16 inch smallmouth. The fly was a B Damsel created by Joe Bruce of Baltimore. No sign of grasses. Water levels were 1. 09 at Point of Rocks, 2.77 at Little Falls, and 2.21 at Bridgeport on the Monocacy.
The Monocacy, looking downstream near the confluence with the Potomac.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Ellicott City
The old section of town is frequently described as picturesque with its quaint old buildings, and I remember taking both black and white and color photographs there when I was into photography in the 1960's and 70's. Ironically, on my first visit to the town in years yesterday I forgot to bring a camera. Even if I had remembered, I might not have taken any pictures because I came there primarily to scout fishing locations along the Patapsco River.
In addition to finding new places for future trips. I got in an hour or so of actual fishing and caught a nice little smallmouth bass as well as numerous bluegills, all on a B & B fly. The trip back was highlighted by a violent thunderstorm which decreased in severity as I drove south to home.
In addition to finding new places for future trips. I got in an hour or so of actual fishing and caught a nice little smallmouth bass as well as numerous bluegills, all on a B & B fly. The trip back was highlighted by a violent thunderstorm which decreased in severity as I drove south to home.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Car show
Although I'm not a car hobbyist I attended a show in Edgewater, Maryland yesterday because my friend, Pat, was displaying some of his cars, one of which is pictured with him above. The show specialized in Nash Ramblers and other cars made by American Motors Corporation so I learned a lot about this collecting niche. Basically for me it was a good opportunity to sit outside on a nice day, drink beer, and talk cars, fishing, and any other subject that might arise.
Under the hood:
This one belongs to Pat's father and is one of only about 12 1957 Rebels in existance:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)